Those who say you can’t get something for nothing apparently have never met a volunteer.

About two-thirds of adults in our country actively help others like a neighbor, while roughly a fourth go a step further and donate time through their churches, civic groups, charities, schools and other helpful organizations.

Sometimes, too many choices can be a bad thing. It’s like when you go into a new restaurant and become overwhelmed by the multi-page menu of items. Or when you were a child and your parents took you to Blockbuster and said you could pick anything you wanted for movie night.

Since being at The News-Democrat, I have had a similar but also very different problem with having too many choices.

Late last week, Kentucky lost one of its true statesmen with the passing of former U.S. Senator Wendell Ford.

Since then, there have been numerous accolades about his many accomplishments in Washington, D.C. – from helping to write and pass the Family and Medical Leave Act to promoting Kentucky’s signature coal and tobacco industries – but it is worth noting that several actions taken during his time as governor continue to benefit Kentuckians today.

There may only be 30 working days in this year’s legislative session, but it already seems like there are about twice as many major issues needing to be addressed before the General Assembly wraps up its work in late March.

Because the state operates under a two-year budget, and our constitution, therefore, requires larger majorities in the House and Senate to “open it up” in odd-numbered years, few of the bills filed have a significant financial impact.

Even so, that does not lessen the importance of those that may become law.

At Champions for a Drug Free Carroll County, we like to celebrate. We celebrate living a drug-free life, and we celebrate when those who need treatment and direction are able to reach out. We also like to celebrate when education and prevention reach lives of young individuals that need it most.

Jan. 25-31, we will be celebrating “National Drug Facts Week.” This is a week of education and prevention within Carroll County Schools and is celebrated nationwide and annually.

Although legislative sessions in odd-numbered years are relatively new in Kentucky - the first was held in 2001 - the General Assembly has long met during the first full week of January in these years to elect House and Senate leaders and update committee assignments.

While the top four leaders in both chambers remained the same last week, there were some changes in the other leadership positions; in fact, nine of the 16 House and Senate leaders are new.

“Creating Kentucky jobs and strengthening Kentucky families” - this is how our caucus defined the overall goals of the Senate this session, and I’m proud to report that four of our priority bills to accomplish those objectives passed the Senate in our first week and are now on the way to the House.